


Crumble at Your Side

by braindelete



Category: Iron Man (Comic)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 03:42:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/657682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braindelete/pseuds/braindelete
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper holds vigil at Tony's bedside after the events of World's Most Wanted. Spoilers for Invincible Iron Man: World's Most Wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crumble at Your Side

She was by his side every day because that was how it had always been.

It might not have been be the most interesting post anymore, but it was something to keep her busy, focused and from wondering about how her life should be different. How his life should be different. She had always been there for him, even when she shouldn't have been and sometimes, against her better judgement. There had been times where she'd taken a step away, but she always found herself drawn to him again like sailors to the siren song because he wasn't just an employer. He was her friend.

Pepper Potts held her vigil by Tony's bedside. He needed a friend now.

Tony Stark's condition hadn't changed in days, her only calendar the date on her palm pilot, but Pepper had barely left the chair. When Tony lurched forward, dry heaving into his bedpan, she'd rub his back gently. When he looked at her with vacant eyes that were gray now instead of the deep blue she'd been used to and muttered something incoherent, she stroked his hair and told him it would be okay . Pepper forced herself to be strong when he fell asleep twitching in her arms from the damage he'd done to his brain.

It only hurt a little when Tony didn't remember her name. Her face masked her pain with concern as he looked at her with apology when he drew a blank. She just held his hand and promised that she wasn't upset.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

He'd nearly socked her in the jaw once, his twitches uncontrollable, he'd taken an unexpected swing at her, then broke down into tears while she moved to sit on the bed and held his head in her lap. She hated that it was times like this that she wished he was still in a coma; to save him this agony he was experiencing.

"You're okay, Tony. Don't worry. Just get better."

When he slipped back into a coma Pepper had to admit to herself- though it made her sick to do so- she was relieved. He was motionless in his coma, deathly still in an almost unnerving way. He wasn't in any pain and he wasn't struggling to function. She was happy for his peace without drooling on himself or uncontrollable twitching or forgetting who she was a minute after remembering . She was thankful for Tony to have these moments without pain, without having to feel embarrassed or apologetic.

Time passed in the blips and whirrs of machines. She would stay because until the monitors died, she was going to protect him. She would stay with him as long as he was alive because there was hope in those sounds and the way he sometimes twitched. He deserved to have someone sit by his bedside and mourn his life slipping away for all he'd given up.

Henry Hellrung made frequent appearances to the room. He pulled a chair up beside Pepper and wrapped an arm around her. She leaned in easily, happy for something, someone else to take some of the weight away from her shoulders. He was a good man, deserved better than the burdens of Pepper and Tony. He always had.

"Hey, why don't you go get some air. Richards says you've been here for days without leaving." Henry said with a gentle tone.

Pepper looked at him with tired eyes and nodded. There was no arguing with Henry, because he always knew what was best for you before you knew it yourself.

"You'll stay with him won't you? Have someone get me if he wakes up again? He's always so..."

Henry cut her protests off with a kiss on the forehead. "We'll get you right away, don't worry. Go. Get some air and eat something."

Pepper was reluctant but she let go of Tony's hand and made her way for the door, straightening herself up as she went.

It had snowed since the last time she'd been on the roof of the Baxter Building, and she felt the chill in the air as she stood outside. The sky was appropriately cloudy with the dark gray hues that matched her mood. The air crisp when she inhaled, causing her eyes and face to sting a bit. She wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes and feeling the soft blow of the breeze through her hair. Despite the cold on her hands and face, it felt good. The air was fresh and clean up this high from the city streets. She'd guess it was early late November or early December by the feel of things. She remembered Reed asking her to join his family for Thanksgiving, now that she thought of it.

She stayed with Tony, because she didn't have much to be thankful for in a house filled with a family who seemed relatively unscathed by the collapse of the world. Reed had been just as involved as Tony and yet felt no recourse for the actions he'd taken. She resented them as much as she hated to admit it and the way it sparked such an emotional response. She wiped her tears, and took a deep breath wanting to calm herself before going back to Tony.

Watching the happy family would only make her ache for things she'd never have and things she knew Tony would never have. Reed went to bed every night with his wife, while his children slept soundly in their beds. His brother-in-law and his friend Ben Grimm had returned to their team without much coaxing and everything seemed to work out perfectly for the Fantastic Four.

Tony Stark was rewarded for his efforts to save with world with a coma and a decaying brain. Even if he woke up he would never be the man he was. She would be by his side every day because that was how it had always been. She would be no where else.

Maybe, she had no where else to go.

 

No better way that I can see, to spend all my time while you're asleep, when holding your hands inside of mine. I wanna be here and no where else, rationing off bits of myself so I can crumble at your side. - Here is a Heart by Jenny Owen Youngs

Fin


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